Professional football headed to China

China-American Football League kicks off in 2015

China will get a taste of American-style professional football when the China-American Football League kicks off in 2015.

After years of negotiating with the Chinese government, plans for the new CAFL were announced Thursday.

Teams will be made up of a combination of American and Chinese players and franchises will be located in major cities. Games will be played indoors. Team owners will invest a minimum of $10 million and television licensing rights will be shared.

The CAFL is the brainchild of Marty Judge, who sponsored the first American football game ever played in China in 2013. In addition, Judge is co-owner of the American Football League Philadelphia Soul.

Along with Judge, former Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs head coach Dick Vermeil and former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski are involved with the league.Vermeil guided the St. Louis Rams to a Super Bowl victory in Super Bowl XXXIV, a 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans.

Plans are underway for a championship game plus an All-Star Game to be held in Macau. Eventually, Judge hopes to see the league grow to 30 teams throughout Asia.

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